raskar42 Posted November 25, 2010 Share Posted November 25, 2010 Why melt it? the sword was worth more intact then melted for scrap. the franklin mint is all about keepsakes, isn't it? also the franklin still should have original plans somewhere right? My father was actually a manager at the Franklin Mint around that time. A few years ago I asked him about the Swordquest prizes. He didn't have any memory of them, but indicated that since these were one off items it's likely that the mint didn't produce them directly but farmed the work out to one of the craftsmen they worked with in New York. Dan hm. the trail becomes clearer. now we just have to find all the silversmiths in new york who were working with the franklin mint in the early 80's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ever2600 Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 (edited) I know I'm gonna get flammed for digging this topic back up, (Haaa get it?) BUT I've kept up with this thread for the past several years and I have a tidbit of 'info' that I don't think has been posted in the 46 pages worth of data here. While thumbing through some old Video Games magazines from the 80's, I found and scanned an article from the April 84 issue of Computer Games magazine where some kid wrote in to the magazine about this very topic. See under "Free VCS Games"... For your further skeptic reading pleasure, I give you: Edited April 23, 2011 by 4ever2600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ever2600 Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 I like how in the article, they say, "According to Rumor Control Central here in New York". See, even they weren't sure... LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 This might be a case of "snake dies from silicone poisoning." http://thedailywh.at/2011/03/15/special-report-oh-no-orit-fox-didnt/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DickNixonArisen Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 I love how old the myth is, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranthulfr Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 I like how in the article, they say, "According to Rumor Control Central here in New York". See, even they weren't sure... LOL True, the article doesn't sound 100 percent convincing, but "Rumor Control Central" would be the group that "controls" rumors by checking the facts, right? So they would supposedly be setting the record straight. It IS intersting to note how far back the story goes... And also that it hasn't really changed since 1984. Who knows, maybe that Q&A was the original "snake died of silicone poisoning" article? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 (edited) I like how in the article, they say, "According to Rumor Control Central here in New York". See, even they weren't sure... LOL True, the article doesn't sound 100 percent convincing, but "Rumor Control Central" would be the group that "controls" rumors by checking the facts, right? So they would supposedly be setting the record straight. It IS intersting to note how far back the story goes... And also that it hasn't really changed since 1984. Who knows, maybe that Q&A was the original "snake died of silicone poisoning" article? It's changed. Originally (as the new scan of that letters column shows at well), they were based on the truth - that a bunch of different product was dumped there over several days, crushed, and buried. At some point the truth warped in to the dump being the entire stock of unsold E.T. cartridges. Edited April 23, 2011 by wgungfu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulBlazer Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Never seen the picture of the Atari box, though. Interesting. I wonder if that was just for transport, or the games were really put into the ground that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ever2600 Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 I'm doubting that. I think it's just a mock up the magazine did to make it look like that was real. I believe those crates are holding all the extra copies of Raiders of the Lost Ark. They are being looked at by top people. Top people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiddlepaddle Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Never seen the picture of the Atari box, though. Interesting. I wonder if that was just for transport, or the games were really put into the ground that way. The crate has a label on it that says "Empty". I guess they shipped 'em down that way to New Mexico and dumped the contents, then shipped the empty crates to New York. By the way, ever wonder why Atari paid to transport a bunch of unwanted stuff 1,185 miles instead of a local dump, like say, Mountain View? I think those 14 trucks were doing something else on the way down there, and the dump-thing was just a sideshow to keep the press busy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer4x4 Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 I think those 14 trucks were doing something else on the way down there, and the dump-thing was just a sideshow to keep the press busy... FWIW, when I first heard about O'Sheas I called and spoke with they guy, and I was asking how much space it all took. He said "18 Truck loads". I wonder if the stuff never did make it to the landfill. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 (edited) I think those 14 trucks were doing something else on the way down there, and the dump-thing was just a sideshow to keep the press busy... FWIW, when I first heard about O'Sheas I called and spoke with they guy, and I was asking how much space it all took. He said "18 Truck loads". I wonder if the stuff never did make it to the landfill. Nah, most people just have no idea how much over-manufacturing they had done of all their consumer products. There's a reason it's cited as a huge problem of the time and one of the reasons causing the false financial report filings and the financial downfall of the company. In the Summer of '82 they had warehouses all over the country piling up with unsold stock and by that Fall were doing booking tricks trying to hide it - which caught up with that December. And O'Sheas was almost all Tramiel era stock by the way, not Warner. Edited April 24, 2011 by wgungfu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DickNixonArisen Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Some myths are based on real events; others conflate real events with earlier legends, even those from disparate cultures. All myths that persist do so because they resonate with some essential element of the culture that holds them; they're culturally relevant, or they die. In a way, they're all "real" as social constructs, sometimes even more real than true events from the past that don't have that same relevance. The persistence of this one means that it means something. Buried treasure... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomberpunk Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 HOLY FLIPPIN SHIT. I MADE IT. 4 1/2 HOURS. ARTICLES. DRAMA. BOLOGNA SANDWICHES. HEADACHES. COFFEE. I READ THE WHOLE F__KING THING! IN ONE SITTING. SOMEONE GIVE ME A F__KING CIGARETTE!! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godzilla Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 here, have a clove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbudrick Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 (edited) HOLY FLIPPIN SHIT. I MADE IT. 4 1/2 HOURS. ARTICLES. DRAMA. BOLOGNA SANDWICHES. HEADACHES. COFFEE. I READ THE WHOLE F__KING THING! IN ONE SITTING. SOMEONE GIVE ME A F__KING CIGARETTE!! Pics or it didn't happen. Just like the buried carts. Lolz. -Rob Edited May 10, 2011 by rbudrick 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DickNixonArisen Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 If the consensus is that this story is truly myth or at least overblown to a great degree; why does AA still perpetuate the myth in the little daily fact box? Maybe it should be taken out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toraborakid Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 If the consensus is that this story is truly myth or at least overblown to a great degree; why does AA still perpetuate the myth in the little daily fact box? Maybe it should be taken out. Well, the only way to debunk the myth or prove this is true is to dig. If someone is seriously interested in doing so a way to finance it is to contact one of the shows that uncovers myths and legends perhaps the history channel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DickNixonArisen Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 If the consensus is that this story is truly myth or at least overblown to a great degree; why does AA still perpetuate the myth in the little daily fact box? Maybe it should be taken out. Well, the only way to debunk the myth or prove this is true is to dig. If someone is seriously interested in doing so a way to finance it is to contact one of the shows that uncovers myths and legends perhaps the history channel. That would be SO cool. Great idea; might actually work if someone had the right connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophero Sly Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 If the consensus is that this story is truly myth or at least overblown to a great degree; why does AA still perpetuate the myth in the little daily fact box? Maybe it should be taken out. I've mentioned this several times to no avail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godzilla Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 because all the actual real evidence from back in the day through now says its true. There is no contrary position, aside from ostriches burying their heads in the sand and ignoring the sky. 'no sky, nope, not there, I can't see it, no sir!' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 The percentage interested in proving the cartridge landfill is VERY small compared to the rest of the population, realistically the rest of the world couldn't give a RATS ASS.Forget about Myth Busters doing this, that has already been discussed numerous times before in this thread, NOT the type of thing they would do period.Well for example, Myth Busters tried to solve the Jimmy Hoffa where he was buried mystery some argue, so why not the Atari landfill? because the Hoffa thing holds a high interest with the general population.This is something classic gaming buffs would have to do on their own time and expense because no TV show will.Maybe the Atari landfill mystery has never been proven because "we", a relatively small community wait for the media to do it.If the damn site exists and the location known, is it too hard or too much to ask to dig for the evidence?, i mean it's not like this is Ultra Top Secret military Technology or highly poisonous waste or something.I don't understand all the supposed controversy by the media and hush hush attitude, why all the secrecy?, it's just damn game cartridges, or is it something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris++ Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Well, I'm pretty sure that there's a "just for fun" element involved. It's not as if it's hurting anybody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 (edited) The percentage interested in proving the cartridge landfill is VERY small compared to the rest of the population, realistically the rest of the world couldn't give a RATS ASS.Forget about Myth Busters doing this, that has already been discussed numerous times before in this thread, NOT the type of thing they would do period.Well for example, Myth Busters tried to solve the Jimmy Hoffa where he was buried mystery some argue, so why not the Atari landfill? because the Hoffa thing holds a high interest with the general population.This is something classic gaming buffs would have to do on their own time and expense because no TV show will.Maybe the Atari landfill mystery has never been proven because "we", a relatively small community wait for the media to do it.If the damn site exists and the location known, is it too hard or too much to ask to dig for the evidence?, i mean it's not like this is Ultra Top Secret military Technology or highly poisonous waste or something.I don't understand all the supposed controversy by the media and hush hush attitude, why all the secrecy?, it's just damn game cartridges, or is it something else? It's not "damn game cartridges" those are only a small subset of what's buried there. Honestly it's a non-issue, there's nothing to be proved about a landfill being there. This was one of (emphasis on one of) the dump sites they had around the country and it was a couple different lines of cartridges, unsold computer and peripheral inventory, and other related products. The dump was not 5 million copies of E.T., that's the myth. Likewise as far as digging - it's a landfill that had everything crushed (steamrolled) and then concrete poured over as a cap. Then dirt on top of that and now a parking lot. Besides getting permission to break through that parking lot, you're talking about equipment for digging down at least 15-20 feet, breaking through a concrete cap, and then extracting the crushed muck of what's left down there. Then resealing the cap, putting the dirt pack, and fixing the parking lot. How is the expense justified for that just to verify something we already know (there's a landfill of Atari products there) and verify that the myth attached to it (it's a landfill of 5 million E.T. carts) is still just that - a myth? Edited May 13, 2011 by wgungfu 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybingo Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Here's how the "Atari Landfill" episode of Mythbusters would likely look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P84OKTUx6LY&feature=related 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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